Her Roots, Her Rights Initiative (HERI) was established in 2020 by a team of experienced Women Human Rights Defenders. Since our founding, we have operated as an informal, grassroots collective of activists, volunteers, and community leaders. All activities listed below have been implemented through voluntary contributions, community solidarity, and the expertise and dedication of our members, demonstrating our deep commitment and proven capacity to serve rural communities.
As a collective of defenders working voluntarily, we have organized and supported 10 rural women’s groups to document and resist land grabbing, illegal evictions, and unfair land transactions affecting indigenous and local communities. We provided legal guidance and community paralegal training using our shared expertise, successfully helping over 350 women secure their land rights and stop unlawful displacement.
Drawing on our own knowledge and community partnerships, we documented and promoted indigenous sustainable farming methods and natural resource management practices led by elderly and indigenous women. We trained 200 women in climate-resilient agriculture, soil conservation, and tree planting, establishing 5 community tree nurseries and demonstration farms to combat environmental degradation and food insecurity.
We engaged local government and district authorities as experts and community representatives to include women’s voices in climate change adaptation plans and environment management bylaws, ensuring rural women are recognized as key custodians of the environment.
Working as a volunteer team, we have conducted over 40 community sensitization workshops reaching more than 1,800 rural women on their constitutional rights, land laws, civic freedoms, and how to access justice. These forums created safe spaces for women to discuss challenges and learn how to engage with duty-bearers.
Since 2020, our members have monitored and reported on restrictions on civic freedoms in the region in their individual capacity and as a group. We organized solidarity missions and provided accompaniment support to 25 Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) facing threats, intimidation, or arrest due to their work, ensuring they could continue their activism safely.
We are active participants in national and regional women’s rights coalitions, representing our grassroots collective voice. We have contributed to shadow reports, position papers, and policy briefs submitted to the Ugandan Government and United Nations mechanisms, highlighting gaps in the protection of rural and indigenous women’s rights. We have built strong relationships with 8 local organizations and 4 international networks.
Through community mobilization and voluntary expertise, we implemented dialogues and training sessions for 600 rural women focusing on reproductive health rights, access to healthcare services, and eliminating barriers to care. We worked with local health facilities as community partners to improve information flow and ensure women understand their rights regarding health and family planning.
We carried out intensive community education and cultural dialogue meetings as local activists to address harmful traditional norms that violate women’s reproductive rights and dignity. Our work has contributed to a visible reduction in stigma and improved community acceptance of women’s right to make independent health choices.
Recognizing the growing digital threats to activists, we utilized our collective skills to train 150 Women Human Rights Defenders and Community Leaders on digital safety, secure communication tools, data protection, and how to prevent and respond to cyber-harassment and surveillance. We provide ongoing virtual mentorship and rapid response support based on our shared knowledge.
We equipped women with skills to use digital platforms safely to document human rights violations and share their stories globally. We supported the production of digital content and campaigns that reached over 50,000 people, amplifying rural women’s voices beyond local boundaries while ensuring their safety and anonymity where necessary.
As experienced defenders, we established a confidential peer-support system that provides immediate assistance to women facing violence, threats, or violations. To date, we have responded to over 120 urgent cases, providing legal guidance, safe shelter connections, medical referrals, and psychosocial support to survivors and defenders at risk, all coordinated through our collective network.
We trained and mentored 350 community members (including local leaders and cultural gatekeepers) as human rights monitors and GBV first responders. We established 15 local safety committees that work voluntarily to prevent violence, resolve conflicts, and refer cases to authorities before they escalate.
We documented cases of GBV and gaps in service delivery, producing reports that we presented to police, local councils, and health providers to improve response services and ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
We supported 25 women’s producer groups (over 400 women) to organize, access market information, and engage in sustainable income-generating activities such as processing local products, crafts, and agriculture. Crucially, we integrated rights education into these groups, ensuring women understood that economic empowerment is a fundamental human right and how to fight for fair wages and fair trade.
Through legal awareness and community mediation, we successfully supported 65 women to resolve inheritance disputes and claim their rightful property, which is vital for economic independence.
From the beginning, our collective has prioritized inclusion. We have specifically reached out and supported 120 women living with disabilities, elderly women, and women from minority ethnic groups, ensuring they participate fully in our activities, leadership, and decision-making. We provide materials in local languages and use accessible methods to ensure no one is left behind.
We have organized learning forums for other civil society actors on how to adopt inclusive policies and practices, advocating that the human rights movement must reflect the diversity of the communities it serves.